OSHKOSH, WIS. – The introduction of the new Oshkosh Truck Corporation [NYSE: OSK] Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) A3 provides a revolutionary logistics platform for the increasingly mobile U.S. Army. Designed to support the Army’s Brigade Combat Teams, led by the armored Stryker combat vehicle, the new third-generation HEMTT A3 offers several logistical developments over previous heavy transports. It is lighter and will traverse difficult terrain at a faster pace than its predecessors while maintaining the same 13-ton payload capacity.
“The enhancements to the HEMTT allow it to serve as a base modular vehicle that can be adapted to serve various military roles. This capability becomes more vital as the U.S. Army continues its transformation from its structure of mission-specific divisions, to self-reliant, more expeditionary modular units of action,” said John Stoddart, Oshkosh’s executive vice president and president, defense business.
The HEMTT A3:
· Is the first production-ready, tactical military truck powered by an energy efficient diesel-electric drive system, called ProPulse®, that can increase fuel efficiency by 20 percent or more, depending on mission profile.
· Is the first “ready to roll” heavy-payload defense truck that can be transported with payload on a C-130 aircraft, so it can hit the ground ready to deploy without ground-based material handling equipment.
· Is equipped with heavy-duty TAK-4® independent suspension that keeps the wheels on the ground, even in extremely rugged terrain, and combined with direct-drive, electrically driven wheels, can provide torque where it is most needed.
· Features an Enhanced Load Handling System that allows the vehicle to extract cargo flatracks directly from a C-130 aircraft.
· Is the only heavy logistics transport vehicle with height-adjustable suspension, which facilitates self-unloading of supplies from C-130 aircraft, further reducing the need for external support and improving delivery times to forward troops.
· Has the ability to do double duty as a 200-kilowatt generator, enhancing current stand-alone generator capability. · Has onboard diagnostics for simplified in-the-field troubleshooting and maintenance.
· Features a power pack – its engine/generator and charging system – that can be removed and replaced in 30 minutes or less, greatly reducing down time and simplifying in-field maintenance of major components.
The result of these innovations is a logistical supply vehicle that can keep up with the most modern mobile fighting forces in the U.S. military.
Oshkosh Truck Corporation [NYSE: OSK] is a leading manufacturer of specialty trucks and truck bodies for the defense, fire and emergency, concrete placement and refuse hauling markets. Oshkosh Truck is a Fortune 1000 company with products marketed under the Oshkosh®, Pierce®, McNeilus®, Medtec®, Geesink, Norba and Jerr-Dan® brand names. The company is headquartered in Oshkosh, Wis., and had annual sales of $2.3 billion in fiscal 2004. To learn more about Oshkosh Truck Corporation, visit its web site at www.oshkoshtruckcorporation.com
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